Urinary Incontinence (UI)
Women experience vaginal changes due to childbirth, age, lifestyle or hormonal fluctuations. These changes affect both the vaginal tissue and pelvic floor muscles, causing loss of bladder control or urinary incontinence.
Urinary incontinence can be a persistent condition caused by underlying physical problems or changes, including:
- Pregnancy: hormonal changes and the increased weight of the fetus can lead to stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
- Childbirth: vaginal delivery can weaken muscles needed for bladder control and damage bladder nerves and supportive tissue, leading to a dropped (prolapsed) pelvic floor. With prolapse, the bladder, uterus, rectum or small intestine can get pushed down from the usual position and protrude into the vagina. Such protrusions may be associated with incontinence.
- Age: aging of the bladder muscle can decrease the bladder’s capacity to store urine. Also, involuntary bladder contractions become more frequent as you get older.
- Menopause: after menopause, women produce less estrogen, a hormone that helps keep the lining of the bladder and urethra healthy. Deterioration of these tissues can aggravate incontinence.
Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI)
Stress Urinary Incontinence refers to a condition related to vaginal laxity and pelvic floor muscles relaxation. In this situation, activities that cause increased pressure in your abdomen (placing stress on your bladder) will cause leakage of urine. Such activities may include sneezing, coughing, laughing, exercising, jumping, and in some severe cases even simply walking or bending over.
Statistics show that this is a very common condition, affecting approximately 1 in 3 women in their lifetime. It is something that is more likely as one gets older.